Legislative Counsel Advises K-12 Budget Committee

Inside the foyer of the Kansas Supreme Court “within these walls the balance of justice weighs equal”

Former Senator Jeff King has been hired as legislative counsel to advise the Legislature, particularly on the school finance issue. King appeared before the K-12 Budget Committee today to discuss the Gannon decision and HB 2410.

There was some presentation as King shared lessons from the 2005 Montoy decision and subsequent legislative actions and his thoughts on the decision in Gannon.

King was then asked a number of questions but we think there were some important takeaways from the discussion.

First, King told the Committee to make sure they provide the funds that are promised. If you say you’re going to give the schools $150 million new dollars each year for five years, vote for a plan that provides the funding. This was the lesson from the Montoy settlement. The Legislature promised several years of funding and then reversed. The Court will not allow that to happen this time.

Secondly, don’t think that the focus in the Gannon decision on the performance of the lowest quartile of students means the amount provided for the other three quartiles is sufficient. The Court did not say it was sufficient. Don’t plan on taking money from the top three quartiles and redirecting it to the lowest quartile.

Finally, build a legislative record that demonstrates how your decisions were reasonably calculated to address the Court ruling and the needs of Kansas school students. Part of King’s job is to help them assemble that record.

The Committee may meet again tomorrow at which time they will consider any other technical amendments to the bill and possibly pass it out of committee. Depending on what else happens in the House and Senate, this could be delayed until Monday.

Tax Decisions Remain Stalled

The challenge of assembling a tax and revenue package that restores stability to the state revenue stream and provides funding both to meet the state budget as a whole and to adequately fund the K-12 education system must be quite difficult.

We have seen several plans float to the surface only to be pulled and sent back for alterations. We also continue to hear more about different factions working to put together a plan to run up the flagpole.

Part of the discussion is whether it is better to rip off the band-aid and have one vote on a big package that does it all or to take several votes on smaller packages that add up. Politically, we believe that ripping off the band-aid is the way to go. Tax votes are always hard so just do what needs to be done in one big vote. The easiest way to fix the problem is to simply repeal the failed Brownback tax experiment and return to the stable system we had in 2012. But that does not appear to be in any of the legislative discussions.

At a minimum, we believe the plan they pass must repeal the glide path to zero, repeal the LLC loophole, and re-establish a progressive three-bracket structure. The plan must be structured to fully fund KPERS, stop sweeping money from the highway fund, and provide for adequate funding of K-12 education to meet the Gannon ruling.

And while we are all frustrated that this has not already been accomplished, we need to remember that today is day four of a potentially 24-day session. There is still plenty of time for them to meet, debate, and craft the appropriate plan.

American Health Care Act plays Robin Hood in reverse

Students and families stand to lose health care, while the law guts protections for people with pre-existing conditions

WASHINGTON – May 04, 2017 –

The U.S. House of Representatives today approved a controversial and deeply flawed plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act. NEA President Lily Eskelsen García issued the following statement regarding passage of the American Health Care Act.

“The American Health Care Act (AHCA) plays Robin Hood in reverse. It fails to deliver better, cheaper health care for all Americans, instead giving massive tax cuts to the rich while causing 24 million people to lose coverage.

“This bill will slash funding to the Medicaid program that serves millions of students including those with disabilities. Apparently, snatching health care coverage from children and families was not enough for House Republican leaders and the Trump administration. The act also allows states to jettison existing essential health benefit requirements and to remove protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

“Bottom line, this bill is harmful and irresponsible. Families should not have to face the threat of bankruptcy due to unaffordable medical bills.

“We urge the U.S. Senate to stand with American families and reject the harmful and deeply flawed AHCA.”

To learn more about the specific concerns NEA’s nearly three million members have with the legislation, please click here.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers. Learn more at www.nea.org.